Alina was gripped by fear. "Gavy..." She started to say. "Let us just give them what they want so they can be on their way"
Dragavei turned to look at her, a grin on his face, and she wondered how he could possibly find the situation amusing. "You fear these hoodlums?"
Before she could respond, one of the rascals spoke up "A wise man would fear us. But wisdom seems to elude you, does it not?"
Dragavei took off his cloak and set it on his horse, "I'm afraid your priorities seem misplaced. It is I you should fear".
They burst into laughter.
"And just who do you think yourself to be?" Another, with bad teeth, asked.
"How is one unarmed man going to fare against the rest of us?"
"I'll grant you one last chance," Dragavei said, turning the log of wood in his hands, his tone stiffening. "Flee while you can, and I will spare your lives."
"I grow weary of this pompous arse. Bring me his arm" the leader of the band commanded.
Dragavei looked at Alina "Turn away. What is about to happen is not something you would wish to see"
She wanted to disagree but something was compelling about his tone. She could not refuse his order even though she wanted to.
Turning the horse to face the other direction, she anticipated what was to come, hoping against hope they both made it out alive.
"Who does this fellow think himself to be?" One coming towards Dragavei asked his counterpart.
The other cackled "Perhaps he fancies himself a god"
"Do gods bleed 'cause we're about to make hi..."
He was silenced by a sudden punch to the face. A punch that severely broke his jaw and knocked out some teeth. The first marauder fell to the floor, bleeding and moaning in pain. Before he could move, Dragavei stepped on his head, crushing his skull.
Silence hung in the air as the rest of the marauders remained rooted to the spot in shock. It had happened so fast.
Dragavei moved again and wielded the log in his hands.
He hated humans. He could perceive the rancid stench of their emotions, and crimes previously committed— Rape. Violence. Robbery. Greed.
Disgusted, angry, and fueled with hate, he struck down the second as effortlessly as he had struck down the first.
All Alina heard was their woes of pain and the sounds of their bodies hitting the ground, but she could not turn to look. She just couldn't.
"Mercy... mercy, pleas..."
He brought the log down on the head of the third marauder. Once. Twice. Thrice, till what was left in its place was a bloody pulp.
The leader, seeing all his men had been killed off in the most gruesome of ways, instead of taking off in the other direction, let out a crazed scream and charged at Dragavei who threw a packed punch to his face.
The man staggered back, disoriented. Before he could fall to the floor, Dragavei grabbed him.
"Where are your men now?" He asked in a frighteningly composed manner and it terrified the band leader.
One would not think that was the voice of a being who had just killed five men in the most brutal fashion, with nothing but a log of wood.
"Did you not command them to fetch my arm for you?" He was holding the man by the neck.
"Not only shall I take your arm..." Dragavei grabbed his left arm and wrenched it out of its socket.
The man let out a bloodcurdling scream. "...but your spleen..."
He drove a hand into his stomach and ripped out his spleen. The leader had started to lose consciousness.
"...and your other arm"
He wrenched out the other arm and threw it to the floor.
The man was dead within seconds, and Dragavei flung his body to the ground, spitting as he stepped over their bodies, heading back to the horse.
He wiped his bloody hands on his cloak and smoothened down his hair.
"Gavy? Are you alright??!" Alina asked frantically.
She knew he was alright. She knew it was the marauders that weren't. Their screams were proof.
"Yes, Alina. You may look now. But I must warn you, it is a sight that will haunt your dreams, day and night"
She pulled on Meadow's reins and stirred her horse in his direction.
The bandits, or whatever was left of them, lay on the floor, lifeless and unrecognizable, their bodies, battered beyond recognition.
It was a gruesome sight to behold, and Alina threw up.
Dragavei laughed "Let us ride. We should not linger in this place any longer than necessary"
He mounted his horse and looked at her, his face serious. "Behold the fate of those who dare trifle with me, Alina Cazacu"
Patting Mayhem, he started moving "Feel no pity for them, they do not deserve it"
As Alina urged her horse forward, following Dragavei as he led the way, she thought in her heart that she had indeed made a mistake.
Occasionally, she stole glances at him. Never had she seen anyone strike down people so easily, and treat it as a casual matter.
"T-those men..." She began "...what you did to them..." Her face was still pale, expressing her fear "How? Why kill them in such… depraved fashion?"
"Believe me, Alina. If you knew the crimes these men committed, you would not concern yourself with how I chose to strike them down" he replied.
"I cannot help but wonder. You must have so much strength to have been able to tear them apart. Were you by chance trained in the art of warfare?"
Dragavei chuckled. "Some are born with gifts, Alina," he replied. "Mine happens to be strength"
Alina scoffed. "Do you take me for a fool, Gavy? Mere strength alone cannot account for what I saw. I've beheld a lot of strong warriors, but what you did back there was something far beyond"
"And what do you think it was?"
She shrugged lightly. "Perhaps you've got some secret potion, or an herb to enhance your strength"
"That's beyond pathetic"
Alina shrugged once again.
Dragavei stopped Mayhem and turned to face her. "Do you truly wish to know the source of my strength?"
The way he asked it made her hesitate, suddenly unsure if she wanted the answer. She swallowed hard, and he asked again, his gaze more serious. "Do you, Alina?"
His eyes were staring deeply into hers, waiting for her response.
Alina shifted uneasily in her saddle. "You said it was your gift" she murmured.
He smirked faintly "And yet you didn't believe it, did you?"
The smile that followed did not reach his eyes. He studied her closely. "You're afraid."
She shrugged. "Any sane person would be after what you did back there"
"You'd be surprised what a man can do once he has set aside his fear, my sweet," he replied, turning Mayhem to continue the journey.
"I've lived beyond fear for a long time. You underestimate what a man is capable of when his will to live is stronger than his fear. There are no limits."
"So... your 'will' bestows on you a strength without bounds?" she asked.
"Perhaps."
Will, he'd said. What kind of will could allow a man to tear others apart with such ease? There was far more to his story, she was certain of it. Much more than he was willing to share.
But at that moment, Alina wasn't sure she wanted to find out the truth.
She glanced at Dragavei as they rode in silence for a few moments.
"Is it always this way with you?" she asked hesitantly. "Such violence, such vile cruelty... brutality?"
Their horses were side by side now, her attention fully on him.
Dragavei didn't turn to look at her, his gaze fixed ahead. "As long as no one crosses us, no. The world is not a righteous place, Alina. Mercy is a luxury few can afford."
Her heart skipped, but she said nothing.
He turned toward her, another teasing smirk playing on his lips. "Perhaps one day you'll know. But not today."
Alina didn't look away from his eyes "You always give me half-truths" she said in frustration. "Gavy, how do you expect me to stay by your side when I can't even trust what you tell me?"
"I never asked you to trust me, did I? Dragavei replied. "And you're still here, aren't you?"
That was the problem. She was still there, and for the life of her, she couldn't explain why!
She had made the choice to ride with him, to remain by his side, even though she knew there was far more to him than he let on.
Perhaps it was fate that kept her drawn to him, or perhaps it was her overpowering curiosity... her thirst for knowledge... her longing for adventure, that had won over. She was willing to risk it all, even her own life, to know the things he knew.
"What sort of man, are you?" She muttered to herself, under her breath, but he heard.
"I am a traveler"
A traveler yes, but Alina knew he was beyond that.
He was a man to be feared.